1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to exhaust purification apparatuses configured to purify exhaust from image forming apparatuses containing byproducts to be generated with image formation.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been known that various byproducts are generated with image formation in an image forming apparatus such as a copier and a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine that integrally has these functions. The byproducts include, for example, effluvium, VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), low-molecular siloxane, and dust such as toner and paper powder. Image forming apparatuses are typically configured such that byproducts generated thereinside are sucked into an exhaust duct, and that the sucked byproducts are captured by a standardized internal filter that is disposed in the middle of an exhaust path of the exhaust duct. This allows the exhaust to become harmless in terms of meeting a certain criterion.
However, this does not mean that byproducts are thoroughly captured by the internal filter. For example, the standard for the internal filter is not directed to byproducts of a particle diameter that is even smaller than a minimum size capturable by the internal filter, and thus such byproducts pass through the internal filter and are exhausted out of the image forming apparatus from an outlet. Hence, some users of the image forming apparatus desire that the exhaust which meets the standard by passing the internal filter be further purified.
As a method of purifying exhaust from an image forming apparatus, it is conceivable that an air purifier is positioned in the vicinity of an image forming apparatus that is already installed. The air purifier, however, is configured to capture byproducts that have been discharged once out of the image forming apparatus. Hence, depending on the air purifier, the exhaust from the image forming apparatus may not be completely purified.
Hence, it is conceivable that the image forming apparatus is attached at an outlet thereof with an exhaust purification apparatus having a purification filter for further purifying exhaust from the image forming apparatus. This allows the exhaust from the image forming apparatus to be fully taken into the exhaust purification apparatus directly from the outlet, such that air purified by the purification filter of the exhaust purification apparatus is exhausted from the exhaust purification apparatus.
Such an exhaust purification apparatus uses a fan for discharging air inside the exhaust purification apparatus. The purification filter of the exhaust purification apparatus captures byproducts of a particle diameter that is so small that the internal filter of image forming apparatus is unable to capture. Hence, the purification filter has a finer mesh and larger ventilation resistance as compared to the internal filter. This is to prevent the ventilation resistance of the purification filter from interfering with air discharge to be performed by the image forming apparatus.
Here, it is assumed that a user connects the exhaust purification apparatus to an outlet of the image forming apparatus. However, some image forming apparatuses have, for example, an inlet for taking air into the image forming apparatus as a ventilation port that is open to the outside, in addition to the outlet for discharging air from the image forming apparatus. In such an image forming apparatus, it may be difficult for the user to distinguish between the outlet and the inlet based on the appearance of the apparatus. In case where the user erroneously connects the exhaust purification apparatus to an inlet, the image forming apparatus may not be operable to properly suck air from the inlet due to airflow that is generated by the fan for performing air discharge of the exhaust purification apparatus. This may adversely affect the image forming apparatus.
Hence, a countermeasure is taken with the exhaust purification apparatus which allows for accurate distinction as to whether the ventilation port that is connected with the exhaust purification apparatus is an outlet, and in case where that ventilation port is not an outlet, for prevention of functional interference with the ventilation port. More specifically, detection is made of an airflow that goes in and out of the image forming apparatus, so as to prevent blocking of the airflow to a maximum extent. For example, JP 2010-008024 A discloses a technique of detecting an airflow and performing control based on the detected airflow.
According to JP 2010-008024 A, a plurality of server apparatuses is arranged on a rack inside a server room, which apparatuses are configured to perform air intake and air discharge when in operation so as to cool the interior. The server apparatuses are each provided with a temperature measurer for measuring the temperature of the sucked air and a detector for detecting whether it is an air intake/air discharge state or not. Air conditioning control is performed inside the server room based on the temperature of air sucked into a server apparatus in operation, of which server apparatus the detector detects an air intake/air discharge state.
However, the above-described JP 2010-008024 A relates to a technique of air conditioning to perform temperature control inside a server room, and is not applicable to an exhaust purification apparatus designed for purifying exhaust from an image forming apparatus.